Ginger Sesame Chicken Salad

The elective was two weeks of consult, where we see inpatients with random heart conditions - atrial fibrillation, heart tumors, heart valve problems, heart blocks, heart infections. Then it was two weeks of Coronary Care Unit (CCU), where we saw patients with heart attacks and clots (these need interventional treatment done in the catheterization lab in the same unit) and sick heart failure patients who can't be managed on the floor.

It was an exciting month with a huge variety of diseases - I got to see a couple major open heart surgeries and a guy's heart get shocked with an AED. Add a shooting in the hospital (still feels surreal o_o) plus all the Texas Ebola news, and the month flew by so quickly.
I really enjoyed this month (and it's not just because I don't have to take national exams at the end of elective months.. although that is a huge component hehe). I had a great team - especially my CCU attending Dr. L.

I have no idea how, but he reads every EKG in the entire county hospital, does all the hospital catheterizations/angiograms including emergency ones at 2 am, teaches each weekly EKG conference, and must have superpowers of knowing every patient in the hospital with an elevated cardiac enzyme.

He sleeps probably 2 hours a day - we ROUND on patients at 5:30 am, which means we have to get there insanely early - I thought my 4 am wake up calls were over after finishing surgery! Oh, and he's a research god, and has somehow memorized every criteria of every disease in every cardiac trial in existence ... and pimps us on it every morning, so that means reading research articles nightly (and falling asleep to them), so we're not too ignorant in the morning (we all get them wrong anyway, even the fellows).

Amazingly, Dr. L is insanely cheerful, energetic, and has excellent bedside manners. Pretty impressive. A great team + amazing attending = magical learning for med student.
So eat your salads, people, and I won't have to wake up at 4 am to see you in the hospital. Isn't that a win-win situation right there? Adapted from Cooking Classy.

Ingredients
MARINADE/DRESSING
1/4 c soy sauce
2 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 tsps Sriracha sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped green onions

SALAD
boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb napa cabbage, thinly sliced crosswise
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
white and black sesame seeds, toasted

Directions
MARINADE/DRESSING:
In bowl, whisk together all your ingredients for the marinade. Marinate the chicken breasts with a quarter of your sauce (the rest will be the dressing) in the refrigerator at least an hour.

SALAD:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake your chicken in the oven for 40 min until done (depending on thickness). You can also grill your chicken over medium heat. Cut chicken crosswise into strips about 1/4-inch thick.

In a large bowl, toss together chicken, cabbage, carrots, almonds, green onions, and cilantro with your remaining dressing to coat the salad. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with the chicken cold or warm.